Saturday, November 24, 2007

Is this Jagr's Last Season as a Ranger?

Spector's Note: Much has been made this season of Jagr's "unhappiness" playing head coach Tom Renney's defensive system, and of how he hasn't meshed with Chris Drury and Scott Gomez. Still, Jagr leads the Rangers in scoring, he appears to be happy playing in New York and we haven't seen any of the off-ice malaise that hung over him like a cloud in his final years in Pittsburgh and Washington. I also think the Rangers opening in Prague suggests management may already know where Jagr fits into their plans for next season.

...man, Jagr has been taking a beating these last couple of days on his early season struggles. New York media saying he's not meshing with teammates, internet rumor sites saying he's going to be traded. Tough times for Jagr.

...even with all of his struggles, any time the camera shows him after the game he seems to be smiling and joking around with everyone. So I'm guessing he's happy on this team, but probably having a difficult time figuring out where he fits in this defensive system. Hopefully he figures it out sooner rather than later.